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Earl Grey Milk Tea is so delicious combining the flavors of Earl Grey tea with milk, brown sugar syrup, and sweet chewy tapioca pearls! It’s the perfect morning or afternoon treat!
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Skip the tea shops and make your own bubble tea at home! The terms “boba tea” and “bubble tea” are used interchangeably.
I love bubble tea and the variety of flavors, you can keep it classic by making the famous Tiger Milk Tea, or get creative and make Butterfly Pea Milk Tea. The sky is pretty much the limit, here! This stuff is so good, you’re going to be as obsessed with it as I am!
You'll love Earl Grey Milk Tea because:
- It’s homemade: making your own bubble tea at home is fun! It’s a little bit of a process, but it’s so worth it to be able to have it the way you like it!
- Chewy Tapioca Pearls: these are the defining characteristics of bubble tea! They’re unique, they have a great texture, and they’re fun to chew on while you sip! Frankly, with all of the kid drop offs and pickups during this stage of life, I like having a tapioca pearl to chew on while I wait and sip. If you spend a lot of time commuting, this is a fun car drink!
- Refreshing: Earl Grey tea has a little caffeine, but overall it’s just refreshing, delicious, and gives you that little afternoon energy-boost you might be craving!
- Pretty: it’s just a gorgeous drink. Sometimes people who are unfamiliar with boba tea will stop me and ask me what’s in my cup! And not only do I like to drink bubble tea, I LOVE to talk about it with others!
- Less expensive: Seriously, those tea shops can get pricey! You’ll save money by making your own bubble tea (and making it exactly how you like it) at home!
Ingredients + substitutions
- Earl Grey Tea - if you’re a tea freak, I mean, enthusiast, like me, you’re probably a fan of this tea! Essentially it’s black tea flavored with oil from the rinds of bergamot oranges. It smells amazing, and it’s a nice change-up from the standard black tea you’re used to drinking. Give it a try if you haven’t!
- Water - for boiling the boba. It’s best to use filtered water so that things don’t end up having that weird tap-water flavor.
- Boba - boba, aka bubbles, boba pearls, or tapioca pearls, are small, chewy circles made from the starch extracted from the root of the cassava plant. They’re famous for being at the bottom of Taiwanese bubble tea. Basically they taste like sweet little chewy jelly balls. They add a uniqueness to drinks and they’re just fun to chew on. You can get boba pearls on Amazon.
- Brown sugar syrup - you can either make it at home or use store bought. Instructions to make your own are at the bottom of the recipe card below. ALSO, you can swap the brown sugar syrup for regular simple syrup or store-bought simple syrup. But if you have the time, I recommend making your own.
- Milk - I used whole milk, but you can use 2%, or any unflavored plant-based milk that you like to make it vegan or dairy-free.
Step-by-step (with photos)
STEP 1: First, brew your Earl Grey tea, just pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 Earl Grey tea bags. Set it aside to steep and cool while you make the boba.
STEP 2 + 3: To make the boba, boil 1 ½ cups of water and add the quick cooking boba to the boiling water. Boil for 7 minutes (or according to package directions), drain, and then rinse them under cold water. Add them to a bowl with 3 tbsp of brown sugar syrup so that they can absorb some of the flavor and to prevent them from sticking together.
STEP 4: Add the boba and the brown sugar syrup they’re in to a glass.
STEP 5: Then add the brewed Earl Grey tea to the glass.
STEP 5: Top with milk!
Special equipment
You don’t need any special equipment to make this recipe.
However, due to the size of the cooked boba pearls, I don’t recommend trying to drink it with a regular straw.
You can get boba straws on Amazon: either disposable boba straws or reusable boba straws will do the trick!
I also recommend grabbing these Bubble Tea Cups! They’re glass, and they fit nicely in the cup holders of your car.
Variations
Add whipped cream - adding a bit of whipped cream makes this drink extra dessert-like. Perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up and sweet treat.
Switch up the flavors, you can easily swap out the Earl Grey Tea for a variety of flavors such as: Oreo, Caramel, Butterfly Pea, and even Pumpkin Spice!
How long does milk tea/boba last in the fridge?
Max 4 hours. As long as it is completely submerged in brown sugar (or another flavor) simple syrup. If left in the refrigerator too long, they will get hard and lose the chewy texture.
You can combat this a little bit by reheating the simple syrup and bubbles (separately from the tea) in a saucepan over medium heat until they’re warmed through.
Earl Grey Milk Tea
Ingredients
- 1 cup strong Earl Grey tea just brew 2 tea bags in 1 cup boiling water
- 1 ½ cups water
- 3 tbsp quick-cooking boba/tapioca pearls
- 2 tbsp brown sugar syrup store-bought or make your own *see notes
- ½ cup milk whole milk, 2%, or plant-based
Instructions
- First, brew the Earl Grey tea, just pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 Earl Grey tea bags. Set it aside to steep and cool while you make the boba.
- To make the boba, boil 1 ½ cups of water and add the quick cooking boba to the boiling water. Boil for 7 minutes (or according to package directions), drain, and then rinse them under cold water. Add them to a bowl with 3 tbsp of brown sugar syrup so that they can absorb some of the flavor and to prevent them from sticking together.
- Add the boba and the brown sugar syrup to a glass.
- Then add the brewed Earl Grey tea.
- Top with milk.
- You CAN add ice if you’d like, if not, drink it as is! I personally like mine a little on the warm side. Enjoy!
Notes
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Nutrition
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